5 Best Zombie Movies

Here's a list of the 5 best zombie movies—refer here for your next zombie-themed social function. Catering tip: "Braaaaaaiiiinnnnnnsssss" makes for a funny gag on the invitation, but actual brains are a turn-off in the kitchen.

1."I Walked With A Zombie" This 1943 chiller is what we in the zombie-enthusiast community call a "proto-zombie" movie. It doesn't have the explicit flesh-chewing that marks later best zombie movies, but it's still one of the best zombie movies regardless. It paved the way for all the zombies that came later, and it has a literary significance that few later movies can match: It's basically a horror movie version of Jane Eyre, with zombies.

2."The Last Man on Earth" What's scarier than a mindless, rampaging zombie that will stop at nothing to crack open your skull and slurp on your Braaaiiiinnns? How about one that's trying to verbally coax you to come out! That's what Vincent Price has to deal with after he becomes the only man alive after a global apocalypse turns everyone else into zombies. You may be thinking that this sounds a lot like the Will Smith movie "Men In Black II." Well, we're here to tell you that that's totally coincidental.

3."Dawn of the Dead" Any list of the best zombie movies could easily be populated with most (if not all) of George Romero's "…of the Dead" movies, but space is limited so we'll just include the best. "Dawn of the Dead" is the perfect combination on over-the-top splatter, social commentary, and pop art sensibility. It's not just wall-to-wall blood spray and carnage either—late in the movie there's an extended pie fight sequence complete with cartoonish music cues. But there's also plenty of zombies getting shot in the head. So, you know, win-win.

4."28 Days Later" Some zombie movie purists will insist that "28 Days Later" is not a true zombie movie, because the "zombies" aren't actually resurrected dead, but are instead living human beings who have been infected with some sort of made-up disease. These people need to be avoided at all costs, because their way of thinking means that "28 Days Later" is not among the best zombie movies, which is simply absurd. It doesn't skimp on the Romero-esque social satire either, because many of the humans in the movie are just as monstrous as the zombies.

5."Shaun of the Dead" This is one of the best zombie movies for the way it mixes laughs with undead ownage. Again, zombie purists may object to its inclusion and again, they should be ignored. Not only is it one of the funniest comedies to come out of the last decade, but it also has zombie sight gags that must make George Romero jealous.